


dream a little dream of me

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Dreams, F/M, Friendship, Love, M/M, Multi, The Framework, robots are evil guys, what's real and what's fake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-24 23:21:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9791648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: Post-4x14What if, like May originally, AIDA screwed up someone's dream-state in the Framework, and that person broke free? What if she realized her mistake, and put that person back under, and suddenly their life was perfect? There was love, and peace, and joy... and then they were saved, woken up from the Framework, returned to real life.And now things were really, REALLY awkward.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was listen to The von Trapps version of this song when I got the idea for this. (I've been a bit addicted to the album, the past couple of days. A few of their songs might end up featured in my fics.)
> 
> Some of the descriptive stuff herein might be weird; I didn't pay super close attention to that scene in episode 4x14, so I made up anything I wasn't sure about. This is supposed to be a funny one; I hope it didn't turn out too angsty. Haha :) Already finished, I've split it up into about four or five chapters.

"Seriously, Melinda, what the hell?" Coulson gently pushed his friend back, tilting his head away so he could give her a good look. "You and Andrew get into a fight?"

"Andrew?" May frowned, giving him a smile as if he was being crazy. "Andrew and I broke up a couple weeks ago. You know that." She leaned in again, intent to continue kissing him, but he kept his hands firmly on her upper arms.

"May, where is this coming from? Have you been drugged?" He frowned deeply as he tried to gauge the size of her pupils.

Realizing that he wasn't joking around with her, she stopped trying to get closer and tilted her head to the side.

"I thought, perhaps...all those jokes? Are you telling me they were _actually_  jokes?" She scoffed, not believing that.

"No," Coulson admitted, lowering his hands from her arms. "They weren't always jokes. At one point, yes, I considered us as more than just best friends, more than just partners. But May..." Coulson gave her a pleading look. "I can't. You of all people  _know_  why I can't, and honestly I'm really wondering if you were drugged because you and I _just_  had a conversation about why we could never be together."

"Was I drunk?" She wondered lightly, and Coulson sighed heavily.

"Please tell me that you and Andrew _didn't_  actually break up." He begged. "Or that it's reparable."

"Why?" She frowned deeply at him. "Why do you care so much? I thought you wanted us, to try us. You _said_  that if I ever got tired of dating a civilian..."

"May, that was _years_  ago," He pointed out gently. "And need I remind you that during most of the _years_  that have passed since then, you've been with Andrew? He makes you happy! It's so obvious. You love him."

May blinked, and then something happened that made ice flood through Coulson's veins.

She _shimmered_. Like a projection. He blinked again, hoping to dear God that he'd just imagined that.

"May?" Coulson asked warningly, darkly.

"I thought you wanted us, to try us. You _said_  that if I ever got tired of dating a civilian..."

Coulson gasped, jerking awake, his chest heaving against restraints that held him in an upward position. Looking down, he realized his arms weren't so much restrained as they were nestled inside of a sort of slot. If he twisted his wrists a certain way, he could pull free, and he immediately reached up and yanked the machine off of his head.

It was almost exactly like Fitz's program, except he'd had very little control over it and he hadn't been _aware_  that it was fake...it had felt so real... almost. He shivered the nauseous feeling away and pulled the blood pressure sleeve from his arm, the heavy velcro strap from his chest, and stumbled off of the little stand his feet had been resting on.

He wasn't alone in the room.

"Dear _God_ , Jeff," He realized, quickly stumbling to the stand next to his. There were five of them, in all. Jeff, Mack, Daisy, May. " _May_ ," he sighed, pleased to have finally found his best friend. Looking at her brought the weird dream back to mind again though, and he focused back on Jeff.

He was bleeding, and looked to be incredibly injured. His face was pale, the skin around his eyes darkened, his lips almost blue... and he had cuts and bruises all over him. He looked like he'd been beaten to death, except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

"Jesus, Jeff," Coulson murmured, touching what looked to be a particularly deep wound on the man's chest. "I'll help you, hold on," He turned around in a circle, unsure what exactly he was searching for immediately. The upright position they were all in while unconscious could not be good for the broken ribs Jeff more than likely had. The other three seemed okay at least in first appearances.

"I need, I need..." He paced quickly around the room, hastily digging through piles of medical equipment and files of paper, looking for something to patch up the worst of Jeff's wounds. "There!" He spied a small medical refrigerator and a cabinet with a clear door, but reaching them he discovered they were both locked snugly.

And inside the refrigerator, he was ninety-eight percent sure he was looking at Terrigen crystals.

"That's not good."

He turned away from the fridge, not wanting to see the crystals anymore, and his eyes landed on Daisy.

With her powers, she could help him open the cabinet that held the gauze and stitching material.

"Daisy, Daisy," Coulson whispered, unsure why he was whispering, patting her face in between pulling off her blood pressure sleeve and the heart monitor on her finger. She also had something else, something weird, around her wrists and hands. It probably kept her from using her powers in unconsciousness.

He hesitated before pulling off the helmet thing on her head. He was just inside the program; he knew how intensely real it felt, how nauseating and disorienting it was reinserting yourself into real life. What would happen if he tried to force that upon her? He hated not knowing, being so close and yet possibly so very far away. There was no way he could turn the program off on the computer systems. That was more Daisy's speed.

"Oh, Daisy," He sighed, his hand shaking as he rest it against her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I don't know, I don't know if I should - please, please wake up," Nothing he did was jarring her awake. He wished he could figure out how _he'd_  gotten out. He felt so mixed up right now.

Wait...

"It's not real, Daisy. Please fight it. Please hear me - it's not real. They're just messing with your head, none of it is real," This all sounded way too familiar to Coulson, and he stumbled back away from Daisy's still form, his nausea finally overtaking him as he turned away and braced his arm against the table. A bit of it splashed on his shoes, but he didn't care at the moment.

"Well. Looks like I've got some cleaning up I need to do."

Coulson whirled around at the recognizable voice, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.

"AIDA," He said between his teeth, glaring at her. "Turn it off. Let them go."

"All of you are perfectly safe where you are." She replied easily, coming further into the room and stepping around the table. Coulson subconsciously stepped back, wanting to keep distance between them. He was still too disoriented to hold much of a fight, especially against a robot.

"Why are you doing this? What do you have the LMD's doing?" He demanded as she continued to stride closer to him.

"I assumed I was giving you what you wanted, but much like Agent May, it seems my first assumption was incorrect." AIDA mused, first giving Coulson a curious look, and then turning her gaze toward Jeff, and Daisy. "The nausea is a common side effect, unfortunately, but you won't need to worry about that for long." She smiled at him, as if she were any other normal doctor speaking to a patient.

"Don't come any closer!" Coulson warned, glancing around for a weapon he could use. None of this stuff looked like it would do much damage to her. They might annoy her, though. He picked up the closest thing to him; some kind of scanner probably.

She smiled at him as if he were being cute, and with that smile still on her face, she reached her hand straight out to the side and curled her fingers around Daisy's throat.

Coulson's eyes widened as he watched her, for a moment unsure whether she was just putting on a show, but then one of the computers starting beeping in warning.

"Stop!" He ordered, his own heart pounding in his chest as Daisy lay there completely still, completely unaware that her body was fighting for its life.

"Get back into your pod." AIDA told him, gesturing her head toward the vacated stand. Coulson swallowed, and he watched AIDA's arm flex as her grip tightened around Daisy's throat. It wouldn't take her much to break Daisy's neck.

"Okay, okay!" Coulson hurriedly said, dropping the device and putting a hand onto one of the arms of the stand. AIDA's grip slackened slightly but she didn't move, her eyes narrowing a little as she watched him. Slowly, and glaring all the way, Coulson resettled himself back onto the stand, his body tense as a wire as he pressed his wrists back into the slots.

"Good," AIDA praised, again like he was a child, and as promised she let Daisy go. Coulson anxiously watched the monitor until it registered Daisy's pulse as normal. He vaguely wondered if her Framework dream had changed at all to account for the duress.

He flinched when AIDA stood in front of him, reaching up to resettle the helmet atop his head. She was putting him under again.

"Don't worry," She promised. "You'll be perfectly comfortable from now on."

It was like a switch had been flicked. One moment he was putting every ounce of seething emotion into his silent glare at her, and the next, there was nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of domestic fluff. Imagine "Pleasantville", if you'd like. ;)

He smelled the fresh linen, first, and something piney, like a dense forest. There was also a vaguely floral smell, but not overwhelmingly so, and he smiled widely. He knew exactly where he was.

He opened his eyes and stared at the wooden roof, admiring the way the morning sun hit the logs and bounced throughout the entire room. He admired the softness of the bed, the firmness of the pillow, the warmth settled next to him.

He'd been waiting for a vacation at the Retreat for days, weeks, _months_  really. They were only here for a few days, but it was already so worth it. After everything that has happened, they all deserved a bit of a vacation.

The arm slung low across his hips pressed a little, tugging him closer, and Coulson turned onto his side, holding the arm in place so it wouldn't slide off with the movement. They smiled sleepily at one another, and nuzzled a bit.

"Good morning." Jeff's voice was gravelly and deeper than usual, as it often was first thing in the morning, and it made Coulson smile even wider than he already was.

"It is, isn't it?" Coulson mused, and sighed contentedly, closing his eyes as he relaxed completely, his forehead touching Jeff's. "I feel like I've been waiting for a break for _years_."

"Haven't you, though?" Jeff teased lightly.

"Mm, my favorite thing," Daisy's voice piped up, sliding her body closer to curl around Coulson's back, her arm covering Jeff's across his waist. "Coulson sandwich." She mumbled against the nape of his neck, and he could feel her smile against his skin.

Jeff hummed lowly in agreement, pulling himself even closer as well, until they were a tangled mess of legs, bodies around either side of Coulson like a protective barrier. Coulson reached one arm behind him to rest comfortably upon Daisy's hip, and he curled his other up above Jeff's head, where he could bend his wrist and press his fingers through Jeff's hair.

They quickly fell asleep again, for once not having to worry about getting up and training, or briefing, or interrogating, or spying, or anything else remotely to do with work. Today, they didn't have to worry about extremists or robots or mad scientists. They had the weekend all to themselves, and they would use every minute of it, dammit.  
  


**< -><-><->**

"Taste this, what do you think?" Jeff's voice floated out of the kitchen, his mildly concerned tone alerting Coulson before he realized what words had been spoken. He was already headed down the hall when he heard Daisy's response,

"Damn, Jeff. He'll definitely like that." Whatever it was, it had her positive vote.

Coulson sniffed the air, getting a little bounce in his step as he realized that they were cooking something. He paused before revealing himself from the hall. They were probably trying to surprise him. He should go back into the other room and pretend he had no idea what was going on.

But he was also very, very curious about watching the two of them in the kitchen.

Okay, sue him, he was rather _excited_  at the prospect of watching the two of them in the kitchen.

Slowly, carefully, he peeked his head around the corner. He inwardly cheered as he quickly realized that as long as he was still, his would probably not be immediately noticed.

"My dad's recipe," Jeff announced proudly, turning back toward the large pot on the stove, stirring with a wooden spoon. "We used it for so many things. Spaghetti, lasagna, parmigiana, heck we even used to make fancy pizza dinners with it."

"I think I could drink that stuff." Daisy told him seriously, and he laughed. Coulson's chest warmed at the sound, and at just watching the two of them.

God, he loved them.

"How are the cookies coming along?" Jeff asked, his back still turned to her as he carefully measured and tossed in some more spices.

"I'm making a mess." Daisy admitted, stepping back to show Jeff the flour that sprinkled the counter and the front of her shirt. Jeff grinned, wiping a bit of the powder off of her nose.

"It's not baking if you're not making a mess, right?" He replied, and she seemed almost relieved by his words.

"The dough just needs to chill for a bit, and then I'll start putting them in the oven." Daisy announced, reaching for the plastic wrap to cover the bowl with while it chilled.

Jeff swooped in before she could cover it, grabbing a small bit of the dough and eating it. She pushed at his chest, laughing though, as he made a delighted expression at the taste.

"I bet those are gonna be awesome." He told her excitedly, and she snorted when she realized she'd put a flour palm print on his shirt.

"You assume Coulson is going to want to share them?" She teased loftily. Apparently there was a bit of friendly competition going on here, as well.

Jeff made a face and pinched up some of the flour from the counter, flinging it at her. She was already half covered in the stuff already, but she huffed at it him anyway, pressing one of her flour-covered hands against the front of his face.

Jeff made a noise of complaint and, pouting, held his hands up in defeat as he felt around blindly for something to wipe his face off with.

"Here, I'll help," Daisy said, her tone not quite reaching apologetic levels, and in one swift movement she lifted up the bottom of Jeff's shirt and rubbed it across his face.

It was funny, and it also gave Coulson a view of Jeff's stomach, which Coulson had always had a very unapologetic admiration of.

"Jerk," Jeff muttered, pulling his shirt back down and wiping uselessly at the white powder all over it.

"Dork," Daisy retorted quickly, giving him a cheeky grin as she stepped around him to put the bowl of dough in the fridge.

Coulson took the opportunity to reveal himself, stepping into the kitchen as if he were coming into a completely surprising scene.

"What's all this?" He wondered, eyeing the mess on the island counter, and various ingredients strewn about next to the stove.

"Nothing," Jeff and Daisy both said at the same time; Daisy quickly turning around and shutting the refrigerator behind her, leaning her back against the door, and Jeff just as quickly moving to the stove and turning the burner down before putting the lid on top of the pot.

Obviously, they could not hide anything else, particularly the flour that they were both covered in, and Coulson smiled.

They were the best.


	3. Chapter 3

"I love the sound of your laugh," Daisy murmured casually, her eyes on the television screen as she slowly trailed her fingers through Coulson's hair. They had decided to pile a bunch of blankets and pillows in front of the couch, and she was currently sitting in the middle with her back resting against the furniture. Coulson and Jeff were on either side of her, both of them using her as a pillow. Coulson's head was on her lap so she could reach his hair fine, but Jeff was a little lower, using Coulson's shoulder as his pillow, so Daisy had to drape her arm across Coulson's chest to reach his hair.

Coulson didn't mind in the least.

They were supposed to be watching old movies, comedies mostly. They were, for the most part, though sometimes one of them fell asleep. Especially one of the guys, with the way Daisy was carding her fingers through their hair.

Coulson didn't mind that, either.

Considering that Tahiti didn't count, Coulson wasn't sure that he's ever felt this relaxed before.

"Both of you," Daisy continued, pressing her thumb against Jeff's brow for a moment. "I especially enjoy hearing you laugh together." She paused for a long moment. "Is that weird?"

Jeff chuckled, and tilted his head to look up at her.

"Not weird," He assured her, "I like it when we laugh together, too."

Coulson lifted his shoulder beneath Jeff's head, nudging him playfully at his cheeky response.

"I do!" He protested, and Coulson fondly pressed his cheek against the top of Jeff's head.

He dozed off again not much later, completely at ease to do so. It was practically magical.

 **  
<-><-><->**  
  
  


"Coulson? Coulson, come on," Daisy's voice coaxed, her hand against his jaw. Coulson leaned into her touch, frowning as he fought the process. He didn't want to wake up yet.

"Five more minutes," He mumbled, halfway nuzzling her palm before falling asleep again.

"Help me, would you? I don't know why he's so deep asleep." Daisy requested, and Coulson vaguely felt different hands against him; someone sat him up and wrapped their arm around his back.

"Hey, Philip, come on," Jeff encouraged, managing to get Coulson's arm draped over his own shoulders as he stood, half carrying the still-mostly-asleep Coulson.

"Aw," Coulson whined, his eyes still closed, though now he had to squeeze them to keep them shut, "what's the hurry?" He tightened his grip on Jeff's shoulders, resting his other hand against Jeff's chest as he turned slightly into the embrace, tucking his nose against Jeff's neck.

"Philip?" Jeff's voice lilted, as if he had been caught off guard by the action, and Coulson finally blinked his eyes open.

It was difficult, like he was incredibly hungover. Geez, how much wine had they had last night?

"There you are. Welcome back." Daisy smiled at him, looking exhausted, worried, and incredibly relieved all at once. "Don't worry about a thing, okay? Fitz and Simmons know what's up, and they're sending a QuinJet for us. We'll be back on base before you know it."

"Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong?" Coulson wondered, trying now to use his own two feet more and not lean so much on Jeff (nice as it was). Daisy blinked at him for a moment, considering his question.

"After we turned the machine off, you continued sleeping a lot longer than any of us," Daisy told him, speaking a little slower than usual, as if she wasn't sure herself. "We couldn't wake you up. It's been hours."

He inwardly mused over this, finally looking around and taking in his surroundings. He didn't _feel_  sick or anything, other than hungover anyhow, and that was to be expected -

"Where the hell are we?" He demanded.

He watched Daisy and Jeff share a look before he got a reply.

"We're in a submarine, Phil. We've surfaced, but, we're still stuck here until the QuinJet arrives. We're dead in the water." Jeff answered.

"How the hell did we get in a submarine?" Coulson wondered incredulously, and Daisy shrugged halfheartedly, sighing as she leaned back against the counter. Her hand brushed against something, and she jerked away from it before eyeing it and then rolling her eyes and shoving it to the side.

It seemed familiar to Coulson, but he couldn't exactly place why.

"How are you doing, boss?" Mack asked Jeff, walking through one of the bulkheads into the room.

"I've been better." Jeff admitted with a grunt, and Coulson realized he was hurting him, and quickly pulled completely away.

"Damn, I'm sorry, Jeff," Coulson apologized, and then slowly took in all the cuts and bruises on Jeff's pale skin. Looking at the man's face again, Coulson noticed that it seemed like Jeff was doing everything he could just not to pass out. He couldn't even be very gentle about it - Jeff looked _horrible_.

"What the hell," Coulson murmured, carefully touching the very recent-looking stitches on Jeff's pec. Jeff flinched away, and both men looked apologetic toward one another.

"Coulson," Daisy started, very cautious and incredibly concerned, "what do you remember?"

"Well we were at the - " He began, cutting to a halt when his eyes again caught the object Daisy had pushed away. He knew why he recognized it, now.

Eyes widening, he immediately stepped around Daisy, toward the fridge, pressing his hands against the glass.

"I destroyed them." Daisy assured him softly, and he turned back around to the group.

"I..." He blinked wide-eyed at her, and then shook his head, trying to clear it. "Where's May?"

"She's up top, waiting on the QuinJet. Wanted some fresh air, which I understand completely." Mack answered. "It's good to see you awake, Coulson. Just in time for our rescue, no doubt. They shouldn't be much longer."

"We're okay?" Coulson meant to say that as a reassurance for them, but it came out more like he _needed_  reassurance.

"For the most part," Jeff replied wryly, shrugging one of his shoulders, then wincing. Coulson's heart panged painfully against his chest as he looked at him.

"I need some fresh air, too," Coulson muttered, stumbling out of the room, just managing to hear Mack's directions that would lead him to the ladder with the open hatch.

It wasn't as windy as he'd expected it to be. In fact, the sea was practically as still as glass. The sun was blinding, and it piqued his nausea to the point that he was scrambling on his hands and knees toward the edge of the walkway, unable to get his footing even with the stillness of the ocean and the seacraft. There weren't railings on the top of a submarine, so if he didn't want to slide off into the water, he'd better be careful.

His bile was quickly washed away from the side of the vessel by the gently lapping salt-water, and Coulson lay flat on his stomach, his arms spread eagle, eyes closed as he orientated himself.

"Happened to me, too." May commented quietly from nearby, and he opened his eyes. Her bare feet were within his line of sight.

"Melinda," He sighed happily, getting to his feet so he could wrap his arms around her. "I knew it, I knew you were still alive." He said against her shoulder, continuing to hold her when she wrapped her arms around him as well.

"I figured you wouldn't give up on me, you idiot." She chided teasingly, though her tone still fell a bit flat.

As disoriented as Coulson was, he couldn't even imagine how she felt, after having been in that machine for so much longer than the rest of them.

"Are you okay?" He asked seriously, pulling back, his hands on her arms.

This stance felt eerily, uncomfortably familiar, but Coulson couldn't immediately place it.

"Not really." She answered honestly. "But I will be." She smiled tiredly, and reached up to squeeze one of his hands with her own. "Thank you for finding me."

Her eyes looked so haunted, Coulson was reminded of Bahrain. He deeply, sincerely, hoped that she hadn't had to relive that horror in her dream state, but he also knew better than to ask. If she wanted him to know, she would tell him.

God knows he didn't want anyone to find out what _he'd_  been dreaming about.

Yet even knowing it had all been a dream, his chest still ached with an emptiness that shouldn't have mattered.

May recognized something of the same haunted look in his own eyes, and she gave him some space, turning back toward the open sea and taking a few steps away from him.

Coulson stared at the water, thinking of Daisy's blue fingernails and Jeff's blue eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week after their rescue, Daisy notices that Coulson is struggling.

"Hey, AC?" Daisy announced her presence gently, and Coulson put a hand against the swinging heavy bag to still it, and turned around to find her standing a few paces away from him. She was dressed in workout clothes, too, but she stood still, entirely focused on him.

He pulled apart the straps on his wrists and tugged the gloves off of his hands, tucking them under his arm as he reached down for the nearby towel. He wiped it across his face and head before responding to her.

"Morning, Daisy." He sighed, giving her a little smile. He was exhausted, both from little sleep the night before and from pounding at the punching bag for so long.

He wouldn't tell her that hearing her old nickname for him hurt. She was clearly trying to be comforting, and normally it would have pleased him immensely.

He wasn't sure what normal was, anymore.

It turned out that they'd been in the Framework for more than a week. An entire week where LMD copies of themselves were out in the real world, doing who knows what. Fitz and Simmons had managed to secure the help of a few Inhumans, including Yo-Yo, to help keep an eye on the LMD's, while the two scientists had focused on finding the missing team.

Whatever had happened with that, FitzSimmons didn't want to talk about it. Frankly, Coulson was alright with that at the moment. It was hard enough trying to grasp what had happened to all of them back on that submarine.

The worst part was that time did not seem to pass the same way in the Framework. Sometimes, Coulson felt like he'd spent months, years, in that other life. And if that wasn't disorienting enough, once awoken they had quickly discovered that they were alone on the sub.

It had been entirely abandoned, as if no one had been there in the first place - save all the lab equipment that had been in the room with them. Once again, no one had any clue where Radcliffe and AIDA disappeared to.

Daisy looked at Coulson for a long, quiet moment, somehow sensing that his mind had wandered. His heart rate eventually settled from his previous workout by the time she finally spoke.

"Can I join you?"

"Sure," He replied immediately. He had a feeling she wanted to talk, and he was always up for talking with Daisy. Even if it meant that he would have to skirt around the things he didn't want her to know.

He secured his gloves back on as she fetched her own pair, and he gave her a nod as he walked around to the other side of the bag, holding it for her as she set her position.

It was interesting to him that she took a right-forward stance. She must want to work on her weaker side. (Though really, this was Daisy - he was pretty sure she didn't have a weak side.)

She started out with a few gentle punches, warming up her body. Coulson paid close attention to her form, giving her pointers every now and then. She was good, though, really good - he didn't think she needed his advice.

"I dreamt about my parents." Daisy mentioned eventually, her words followed with a tiny grunt as she started throwing punches a little harder. Coulson lifted his eyebrows a bit, surprised that she was telling him about it, but very cognizant of any of the feelings she may have regarding this.

Her parents...that made sense. She didn't get to have much time with them, and by the end, her mother had been so deluded by her own past...she wasn't the same woman anymore. Then, of course, there was Cal - who was here but not here, able to be seen but not able to be visited.

"It was...nice. And _weird_ ," She made a face at Coulson after throwing another solid punch to the bag. "Dad was working as a veterinarian, like he is now in the real world, and everything was pretty much exactly the same, except... Mom was there. And they were together, and _happy_ , and they - " She stopped, hesitating now, her hands lowering slightly. She looked directly at Coulson. "They remembered me. I visited them, all the time. It was like we were..."

"Normal?" Coulson supplied softly, and she nodded, and those eyes of hers seemed so big to him right now.

His hands slipped from the bag, but they hung uselessly at his sides for a moment. He wanted to hug her, but he wasn't sure if _she_  wanted that. He also wasn't sure if it was such a good idea, considering his own struggles he was dealing with at the moment.

Daisy's mouth did that thing where she was trying to contain whatever emotion she was feeling, but it was enough for Coulson to notice, and he closed the distance between them. She hugged him _hard_ , like she'd been waiting to do so for months, and the strength of the gesture surprised him.

He quickly returned with the same strength, of course; following her lead, and so relieved because it was also where he wanted to be. Sweaty t-shirt be damned, if she needed a hug then he would give her the best fucking hug of her life.

Her hair smelled exactly as it had in his dream. As he pressed his eyes closed tightly, visions of bright early morning light started dancing in front of him.

"Coulson? What's wrong?" Daisy asked softly, her cheek moving against his as she held him through his trembling. "Your world, in the Framework... was it bad?"

He didn't answer, partially because he was terrified to, and partially because he had no idea where to begin.

"It wasn't... was it Tahiti?" She asked him so carefully, her arms shifting around him more protectively. "Is that why it was so difficult for us to wake you up after we pulled you out?"

He pulled away only just far enough that he could look her in the eyes, and her expression was full of concern and worry. It made his heart ache even more, seeing just how scared she felt that that could have been a possibility for him.

"No, Daisy," he promised her, trying to put a reassuring smile on his face. He felt like he only half-succeeded. "It wasn't bad. It was..."

"Normal?" She tried, and he returned,

"Perfect."

He couldn't stop staring at her, now. He had all these memories with her, memories that felt as real as the back of his (right) hand, but none of them _were_  real. How was he supposed to go back to being her mentor, her friend, when he knew the softness of her skin on the inside of her elbow? The weight of her hand against his chest? The sound she made when he pressed his fingers against nape of her neck?

"Coulson?" She smiled nervously.

Damn it, he'd been staring.

And they still had their arms around one another.

He needed to tell her. He needed to tell _someone_ , and she was the only person he trusted with this information.

"You were there." He blurted, and at her surprised expression he added, needlessly, "In my dream."

"You were in mine, too." She told him, almost consolingly, assuring him that it was okay. He shook his head, and pulled his arms away from her, slipping back and out of her embrace.

He ran his hand through his hair as he turned around, his mind scrambling over his disordered thoughts.

"You know, even May isn't having so much trouble re-acclimating herself, and she was in that machine for a heck of a lot longer than any of us." Daisy wasn't being accusatory; she was trying to help Coulson along. "What happened to you in there?"

"I woke up," He began, and she looked startled. "The first time, the first...world...was wrong. In a way that made me suspicious enough that I was able to wake myself up." He didn't want to go into that, either. He already had the mess of explaining why he'd kissed robo-May to begin with.

"But you were caught," Daisy guessed, and he nodded.

"You guys were deep in it. And Mace, well, you saw Mace. I tried looking around for something to close up at least the worst of his wounds. I tried waking you up, to help me." He shook his head, the memories coming back a little more clearly and organized as he talked through it. "God, Daisy, it was so insane. It was like the worst hangover of my life - and that second time you guys woke me up, that one was even worse."

"Sorry," She grimaced with a bit of understanding. Coming out of the program after being in it so intently hadn't been pleasant for any of them.

"AIDA had been watching me. I don't know for how long. Eventually she put me back under,"

"You didn't put up a fight?" Daisy teased lightly, and he hesitated, giving her a sharp look. His eyes glanced down toward her neck, where there were no markings to indicate what he had witnessed.

"She had a lot of leverage." He went with, and Daisy tilted her head to the side slightly. She silently waited for him to continue, though, instead of pressing that matter further.

"She put me back under, and - "

"You said we were someplace." Daisy remembered suddenly, and Coulson clenched his jaw for a second as he nodded. He hadn't been quite aware of his surroundings, at that time. He was lucky he hadn't said anything else too damning...

Daisy's eyes narrowed slightly, and they held a glint that made Coulson feel very nervous.

"You _snuggled_  Mace." She didn't entirely succeed in biting away her grin, and folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow as she waited for his explanation. "We all saw it. Hell, even if we hadn't, Mace's voice cracked like a twelve year old holding his crush's hand for the first time."

Coulson felt his cheeks growing warm and there was nothing he could do about it. He decided he should just rush through it and get it out there,

"I don't know if it was the holidays or what, but the world was quiet for a few days. We were at the Retreat, sort of on vacation,"

"We?" Daisy wondered.

"You." He swallowed. "And me." He looked away from her then.

"Annnnd..." She knew he hadn't finished his sentence yet.

"Mace." He muttered, still not looking at her. He didn't want to see her face, he didn't think he could stand the rejection or disgust there.

"What." Daisy prodded, clearly having heard but not certain whether she heard correctly.

"Jeff. Jeff was there, too." Coulson sighed, speaking a little bit louder. It was a herculean effort to look her in the eye again, but he did.

"Well, damn."

"Are you _impressed_?" He exclaimed, and she shrugged defensively.

"I mean geez if I could choose between hot sex dreams, or dreaming about my _parents_ , what the hell do you think I would choose?" She scoffed, and Coulson blushed madly at her words.

"It wasn't a hot sex dream!" He protested. "It was all rather very PG, thank you very much!" He folded his arms across his chest as well, mirroring her position. She raised her eyebrow at him challengingly. "Okay," he amended, "maybe PG-13."

"There are so many things I could say, I don't even know which to start with." Daisy complained, and Coulson pouted through his embarrassment, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "Okay, okay," she stepped closer to him, looking perhaps fifteen percent apologetic, "Coulson, is this what's freaking you out so much? That you dreamed about a group of us vacationing together?"

"You _know_  what the program is, Daisy." Coulson reminded her quietly, dropping his chin to his chest.

He's done a _lot_  of shit over the years, but this is by far the most embarrassed he's ever felt about something.

"Hey, you just told me that AIDA had been watching you during that time you'd broken free." She pointed out forcefully, and he looked up at her, frowning in confusion.

"So? She's a creepy robot. She spies on people."

"She's a creepy robot that is trying to read and understand people, too. She watched you try to help Jeff and then try to wake me. What do you think she saw?" Daisy prodded, and he started to realize what she was getting at. "AIDA probably assumed he and I are the two people you care the most about, so she programmed us to be the primary focus in your dream state." Daisy shrugged, as if it were that easy.

"You _are_  the person I care most about." Coulson told her, without really thinking about it first. Her face lit up at his words, but not with the hope that he wanted to see. She didn't believe his sincerity, or didn't understand what he was trying to say. "I mean of course I care about Mace, too - I care about all of you. And Jeff is a great guy, he's a great... he's a great friend." Coulson realized it as he was saying it. It felt like he hadn't had very many friends in SHIELD in a very long time.

"Well that explains why he was in the dream. You're bros!" Daisy said 'bros' oddly, sort of dragging the vowel out a little, and lightly punched Coulson's shoulder. He rolled his eyes at her, but smiled a little bit.

He remembered something she said, suddenly, and jumped on the opportunity to take the focus off of him and his dream.

"What was I doing in your dream?" He asked curiously, mildly surprised to see that she seemed to be the one wanting to duck the question, this time.

"Like I said, we were hanging out with my parents." She waved her hand in the air as if it didn't matter.

"I met your parents?" Coulson repeated, lifting both of his eyebrows pointedly. She squinted at him and pushed him lightly. He stumbled one step back, but she hadn't shoved him very hard.

"You've met them in real life, too, dumbass."

"Yeah, but did either of them try to kill me in your dream?" He pointed out, smirking just a little. It made him feel a little better that he wasn't the only one who'd dreamt about his friends.

"No, they approved of you." Daisy replied, mildly distracted as she readjusted the straps on her gloves.

Coulson stared at her. Those were rather specific words.

Her fingers paused atop her wrist, though she didn't look up, and the silence between them quickly grew awkward.

"What did we do in _your_  dream?" She asked loftily before he could say anything, diverting the subject from herself. "You never actually said. What does 'vacationing' entail?"

Damn.

When he didn't answer, she finally dropped her hands to her sides and looked up at him.

"PG-13 is a little more than just baking cookies, I think." She teased, lifting that ever-expressive eyebrow of hers just a little bit.

Coulson stopped breathing for a second, blinking at her. There was no way that she knew... that was just a coincidence. Had to be.

"Okay, AC," She rolled her eyes and replaced his position behind the bag, "chill out. I won't pry." She tapped the side of the bag. "Let's get back to it."

Grateful, he took his stance, strong-side forward, and started working the bag. Daisy nodded after a bit, impressed, and he couldn't help but grin a little.

Yeah, okay, so sue him - he was showing off with some of his best punches. He just had to remember to keep it gentle with his left hand - he'd accidentally busted a few bags in the past because of the stronger prosthetic.

"Why _did_  you tell me the truth? About your dream?" Daisy eventually wondered curiously, widening her stance so the force of his hits didn't knock her over.

He thought over how to word his response, continuing to throw jabs and crosses, slowing down just a bit so he didn't accidentally hurt himself while he was distracted.

"Because," he sighed, deciding to be honest, "I trust you. I trust you more than I trust myself sometimes. And things might be... weird... for a bit." He stopped then, reaching a hand out to rest against the bag, focusing on her now. "I want you to know that it's not your fault. I just need to... recover."

She furrowed her brow, clearly worried even though he'd made a point to speak calmly and concisely. Well, as calmly as he could through the exertion of boxing.

"Maybe you should talk to Jeff, too?" She said thoughtfully, and he widened his eyes as brief panic shot through him. She noticed, either because of his face or because of her powers, and she quickly added, "It might help you. Get over it faster."

Well, therein lay the rub. He didn't _want_  to 'get over it'.

He didn't.

He stepped back from the bag as he realized this, and Daisy could tell that his panic was growing because she let go of the bag and stepped around it to be closer to him.

"Hey," She called, her tone a little forceful, and she grabbed his face between the padded gloves on her hands. It felt weird, but her fingertips against his skin was nice. He'd missed that.

Dammit, he couldn't miss what wasn't _real_.

"Look at me." She demanded, and he realized that he'd squeezed his eyes shut as he desperately tried to internalize his reaction to just how screwed he was.

"If you don't think it will help you, then don't tell him. It was a _dream_ , Coulson. It wasn't real, and it won't affect him if he doesn't know about it. Anyway," Her tone softened, "AIDA's not as smart as she thinks she is. She doesn't understand that there are different types of love."

"Like May," Coulson said without thinking, as he relaxed marginally. Daisy froze, only for a moment but he felt it anyway, and she slowly lowered her hands from his face.

"Like May." Daisy repeated, peering at him. He couldn't quite discern her tone, and he desperately felt the need to clarify,

"She's my best friend. My oldest friend, really, other than Maria Hill." Coulson explained, and watched as Daisy's stilted expression softened. She almost looked... relieved?

"Right," she nodded, "AIDA assumed because of all of that history and closeness between you guys, you would be romantic, and she programmed the LMD accordingly. Romance is just not always the case."

"Yeah," Coulson nodded as well, relieved that they were on the same page. Perhaps that meant -

"Seriously though? You still kissed a robot." Daisy raised her eyebrow at him, and Coulson pursed his lips. Of course she wouldn't let him get away with that.

"I mean, I'm a _man_. She is beautiful, regardless of anything that is or isn't between us. And anyway... I sort of suspected that something wasn't right." He admitted, folding his arms across his chest rather petulantly.

"So it was a test?" Daisy scoffed, shaking her head at him. "You _are_  a man." She rolled her eyes, being cheeky with him.

"Need I bring up who _you've_  kissed?" He challenged, and she grimaced and punched his shoulder.

He teasingly pushed at hers in return, not quite a punch, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, shoving her hands against his chest, getting him to stumble backward onto the sparring mat.

She followed him, taking off her mma gloves and letting them fall to the floor, and he lifted his eyebrows.

"Woah, are we actually doing this right now? Shouldn't you keep those on?" He watched her carefully, already on his toes.

He'd been waiting for this to happen ever since they sparred in Fitz's program, but he wasn't sure that he wanted it to happen _right now_. Especially since what he _wanted_  to do had nothing to do with sparring.

Well, not usually.

"We've done enough hitting things for the morning. Show me some grapples. I want to learn how to fight dirty, like you do." She verbally prodded him, and he frowned at her.

"I do not fight dirty!" That came out more pouty than he'd intended.

"C'mon," Daisy didn't quite beg, "let's get some sparring in before Piper and Mace show up." Her eyes glinted, then. "I want to be able to watch when Piper takes him down in ten seconds."

"Is he really that bad?" Coulson wondered, slowly removing his own gloves, biding his time.

"Well," she amended, "maybe not anymore."

He watched as she pushed her fingers through the loose tendrils of her hair, clearing it back from her face where it'd fallen from the ponytail she wore.

He wanted to do that.

"Daisy, I can't do this today." He told her honestly, holding the gloves in one hand by his side. She pouted at him, but straightened her stance.

"Alright," she shrugged, easily agreeing and bending down to retrieve her gloves from the floor.

Like an asshole, his eyes trailed over her curves before he caught himself and turned away, his hand clenching in frustration around the gloves he held.

He heard her put hers back on as he returned his to the equipment locker, and he took his time making sure everything was in its place. Soon enough, he heard her hitting the bag again. Sighing, he shook his head at himself.  
  
Mace being in his dream might have been explainable, but Daisy wasn't. He and Daisy weren't 'bros' and he didn't _want_ to be bros with her. _Her_  presence had been what caused the overall... tone... of the dream - of that he was certain. But since his experience in the Framework he was having a harder and harder time hiding it in real life.

Squaring his shoulders, he approached her once more, standing out of the way from her punches. He refused to estrange her from his life, anymore. It was always inevitable they crash back together, anyhow. They would always be connected, regardless of his feelings for her. He wasn't blind to that, and he couldn't keep running from it forever.

"Maybe tomorrow?" He suggested, and she grinned and nodded, though didn't turn her focus from the bag. This helped him relax marginally; she wasn't too put out that he was basically running away.

"Aw, _man_!" Mace's complaint drifted across the room from the doorway, and both Daisy and Coulson turned toward him.

Piper was already halfway across the mats, headed toward the equipment locker, and she nodded silently in greeting. Coulson returned it, but quickly glanced back toward Mace. He'd moved further into the room, but not much.

"Do you _have_  to be in here right now?" Mace whined a little, his eyes trailing after his training partner for a moment. Daisy snorted quietly, and Coulson even grinned a little.

"You can't improve without failure!" Daisy called, beginning her routine again, although Coulson knew she was still half-focusing on the two newcomers in the room.

"Well, let me give you half an encouragement - I'm done for the day, so you've only got one audience member." Coulson told Jeff, walking in his direction until they stood in front of one another in the middle of the mats. "How are you feeling?" Coulson asked quietly, gesturing toward Jeff's torso, trying not to think too much about how attractive he looked in that sleeveless shirt.

Had he always had to contain these random traitorous thoughts, or was this only because of his time in the Framework?

"Much better," Jeff informed him with relief, but then glanced worriedly back toward his partner for a brief moment. "Unfortunately. Back to the grind!" He sighed with a rueful smile. There was something different about him now, though, and Coulson knew it had nothing to do with his own currently skewed image of things. Jeff was more determined, had a deeper sense of seriousness.

If he kept that up, he would probably improve more at this than he thought he could.

Coulson considered what he and Daisy had discussed, and glanced around to make sure he and Jeff were still relatively alone before speaking again, still in a lowered tone,

"Do you want to have a drink, later?" He asked seriously, and Jeff blinked at him, before registering surprise on his face.

"What?" He wondered, though he didn't seem disturbed by the question, so Coulson forged ahead.

"You know. Hang out." Coulson shrugged. "I know we don't get much free time around here - and I know Directors get even less - but after an op, sometimes a group of us get together. Watch something, or have a beer, or play video games. That sort of thing."

Coulson carefully kept his tone nonchalant, and the back of his neck prickled in a way that assured him that Daisy was paying close attention to them right now. He shifted his weight slightly but refused to avert his eyes toward her.

Jeff's surprised expression slowly melted into a pleased one.

"Yeah? Really?" Damn, Jeff sounded so hopeful about it, but Coulson couldn't even fault him for that. The man didn't really have any friends around here, and anyway, Coulson was feeling pretty damn pleased about it too.

Maybe this was what AIDA had seen, and hadn't understood. Jeff wasn't the only one who felt desperate to belong, after all. Coulson has just learned to hide it better.

"Yeah," Coulson lightly smiled. "And we could figure out this Directing partnership thing we have going."

" _Awesome_ ," Jeff breathed, sounding relieved. Their conversation about purpose hadn't happened so long ago, and Coulson was very aware of that.

He also had to admit that this made him feel a whole lot more 'chill', as Daisy said, in regards to finding his footing in the real world again. She was right, as she usually was - just talking to Mace for a minute had helped distinguish the reality from the contrived.

Now he just had to work on separating dream-Daisy from real-Daisy.

He nodded and smiled one last time toward Mace, before glancing back toward Daisy as he stepped around the man to head toward the door.

Daisy was looking right at him, giving him a proud little nod. He looked at Mace again, who seemed a little more relaxed and maybe even excited now as Piper tossed a pair of sparring gloves at him.

Daisy was still watching Coulson very closely, that recognizable glint in her eyes, and he made a face at her before turning around and leaving the gym.

He was smiling like a dork as he walked down the hall, but there was no one meandering around to see him, so he didn't bother trying to hide it.


	5. Chapter 5

Of course, it wasn't that easy.

He still found himself staring at them - the both of them - for too long sometimes. Too intently. Mace, thank God, didn't seem to notice (or didn't show any signs, if he did). Daisy, on the other hand, seemed to _always_  notice.

She had this particular little grin she would give him, when she caught him looking at Mace. That same glint in her eyes that he remembered seeing back on the submarine, when he'd "snuggled", as she put it. He always made sure to roll his eyes and act like _she_  was being the weird one.

At least she never said anything out loud about it. She kept his secret, and he was immensely grateful for that.

Oddly, the more friendly time he spent with Jeff, not talking about work, the more relaxed he became. Jeff really liked football, though the season was over now, so instead of watching it on tv they would play on the game system. He had to teach Coulson how to play, and of course Coulson was horrible at it the first few times.

So they also played Call of Duty, which Coulson was _excellent_  at (he wasn't ashamed to be proud of that), so Coulson retaliated by kicking Jeff's ass on this game.

Jeff was actually pretty fun to hang out with, and while Coulson still hadn't stopped finding him attractive, that had turned into more of a simple fact of things, and it wasn't constantly at the forefront of his mind anymore. Their growing friendship wasn't even really too awkward, at least until that first time Jeff drove one of their conversations into a more personal area.

"What's up with you and Johnson?"

Okay, he didn't really 'drive' the conversation - he dropped it like a grenade. Coulson was taken off guard by the topic, and Jeff sniped his character dead.

"Dammit," Coulson muttered as he waited for a respawn. "What do you mean?" He asked with fake nonchalance.

"I mean," Jeff winced when he realized that Coulson's respawned character had quickly discovered his, and now he had to play on the defensive. "You two have always been intense, but now it's like," He stopped talking for a few moments as they exchanged brief firefight. "Piper doesn't even want us to train at the same time as you guys anymore."

"Why?" Coulson wondered incredulously, frowning at the screen, using it as an excuse to pretend he wasn't paying much attention to Jeff's words.

He could tell from his peripheral vision that Jeff was giving him a look, and then Jeff quite obviously allowed his character to be shot and killed, which forced Coulson at least a few moments away from the screen.

"Dude, it's obvious that you two want to, you know." Jeff raised his eyebrows pointedly, and Coulson lowered his even further. "You _know_." Jeff repeated impatiently, not going to use the words for it.

"Daisy and I aren't - "

"Don't even _try_ to tell me that you two 'aren't like that'," Jeff laughed and rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and picking up the two empty beer bottles that had been on the table in front of them. "And as partial Director, I can say with a modest amount of certainty that there aren't rules against it. I mean, as great as Mackenzie and Rodriguez are about keeping things behind closed doors, _that's_  an obvious one. And I haven't said anything against them, have I?" Jeff continued as he walked into the kitchen, tossing the bottles in the bin. "You want another beer?"

"I - no." Coulson answered, still scrambling over what to say. He couldn't very well defend himself if he'd really been _that_  obvious about it. But... "Daisy?"

Apparently Jeff understood his question, even though Coulson didn't really ask it. Coulson stood up when his nerves became too bound with energy, and placed his game controller on the table before stepping around the couch.

"You don't see it?" Jeff wondered with surprise, and chuckled again. "She's one of the best as far as the poker face goes, but Phil - come on, yesterday morning she _overtly_ checked out your ass."

"What!" Coulson protested, feeling his face grow warm. "When?" He demanded, not believing the other man. Jeff grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, as Coulson frantically went through his memory of yesterday.

"After your little sparring match." Jeff shrugged, like suddenly this topic wasn't interesting to him anymore. "You won, I think. You were very cocky about it."

"Hey, I had a right to be. I don't win very often." Coulson admitted to him, and Jeff held his hands in the air.

"You've already got more fearlessness than I do - I would never agree to spar with her. Piper is hard enough to handle."

Jeff was mostly self-deprecating now to be funny; he was noticeably improving day by day, and honestly soon enough he would probably need someone a little stronger than Piper. She could more than hold her own, but she was still half his size. He needed to know how to fight people of equal size, and bigger than him, too.

"Anyway, your ass does look pretty great in those shorts, so I don't blame her." Jeff joked, grinning at Coulson as he walked around him and back toward the tv, where he shut off the game and returned the controllers to their storage space.

"Are we done?" Coulson wondered of the game, doing his best not to smirk at Jeff thinking he had a great ass. He had to remind himself that his friend was just joking with him, that he didn't mean anything by it.

"Yeah," Jeff pointed at him, "because you're going to go find Daisy now."

"I am?" Coulson challenged, folding his arms across his chest.

Yeah, of course he was. He had been desperate to go find her the moment he realized that Jeff had said that she wanted to kiss him, too. Or... 'whatever'.

But he didn't want Jeff to have this smug moment so easily. Coulson was supposed to be the smug one. Plus, this sort of smugness looked too attractive on Jeff's face, and Coulson was supposed to be working past that.

"Phil," Jeff laughed again when Coulson continued to just stand there. "Seriously, go find Daisy." He neared Coulson again and put an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Coulson breathed in deeply and let it out, then nodded.

"Okay."

They both knew how important she was to him; knew that he didn't want to screw up what he already had with her. Jeff was way more intuitive than he made himself out to be.

Jeff squeezed Coulson's shoulder once before dropping his hand, stepping back. Coulson smirked, a little embarrassed, and held out his fist, which Jeff tapped with his own.

"Just don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jeff teased, turning to walk away.

"And what wouldn't you do?" Coulson returned, and Jeff only glanced back to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively before disappearing around the corner.

Figuring he would try her quarters first, Coulson spent the entire time walking through the halls trying not to think of the things that Jeff would or wouldn't do.

(He wasn't so sure his Framework dreams _had_  been so PG, after all. Not all of them, anyway. He usually had better control over his subconscious, than this.)

He didn't find her in her room, so he went for the lab next, his footsteps increasing in pace the closer he got. He knew exactly what he was going to do, damn everything else.

He should've done it a long time ago.

And damn AIDA, but she hadn't gotten everything wrong.

(It still irked him, deep in his bones, that they had yet to catch either Radcliffe or AIDA. The thought was almost enough to even distract him from his current mission.

Almost.)

"Agent Coulson! Perfect timing. We were just discussing your prosthetic, and,"

And Coulson didn't care what Fitz was saying, because he finally found Daisy, and he had to do this before he could think himself out of it.

Keeping his determined pace, Coulson walked right by Fitz and Simmons and right up to where Daisy was pulling off her arm braces and setting them on the counter, curling and uncurling her fingers as if they were sore.

He gave her long enough time to meet his eyes and notice him before he placed his hands on either side of her face. He just held her like that for a moment, searching her eyes for anything... negative, he supposed.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't say anything. Her eyebrow twitched, questioning, but her gaze dropped down to his mouth, and he noticed - he finally noticed - because he'd been looking for it. How many times had she done that before, and he just immediately wrote off the gesture with an excuse?

Without any further hesitation, he tilted his head and leaned in, kissing her fully on the mouth.

 _Finally_.

It was brand new, and achingly familiar, all at once.

Here he is, kissing Daisy Johnson, in real life. In the middle of the labs, unfortunately, but hey, real life wasn't perfect.

But sometimes, in certain moments, it could be pretty damn spectacular.

"Well." Jemma sounded both surprised and pleased, and Coulson closed his eyes when Daisy moved her mouth against his, kissing him back.

**  
<-><-><->**

 

-

 

**Epilogue  
  
**

Intrigued by the smells drifting down the hall, Coulson followed his nose toward the galley of the Z1. He idly wondered what it was; it smelled amazing.

"Thank you, by the way," He heard Daisy say happily, followed by some clattering of pots and pans, and he slowed his walk. Daisy was cooking?

"For what?" Jeff teased, and Coulson came to a full stop.

He wasn't sure whether he was terrified, or excited. He pinched his arm to make sure he was awake.

(But wouldn't his Framework self do the same thing?)

"You know for what!" Daisy laughed, the sound so much lighter than anything Coulson has heard from her in quite a while. Dread started to fill him as he wondered more and more about the reality of what he was experiencing, but he slowly continued his approach to the kitchen. His hope was that Daisy was happy enough to laugh like that, but it was hard to have hope when he had been tricked before.

"I make a pretty good wingman, don't I?" Coulson peeked into the room to catch Jeff's grin.

Sure enough, they were cooking. It looked perhaps to be homemade pizza, but Coulson wasn't certain.

"You _did_  tell me that persuasion was your superpower..." Daisy mused, not quite allowing him his smug moment.

That made Coulson smile, regardless of his underlying concern. They were so alike, in some ways. And their topic of conversation helped him relax, somewhat. This wasn't a dream... he had to remind himself that as of two days ago, Holden Radcliffe was locked away in a cell, and his imposter LMD's had all been incinerated.

He wasn't in the Framework.

"What's all this?" Coulson asked teasingly as he entered the room. The other two turned toward him and smiled.

"Dinner! And nope, you get to sit there and have a beer. We've got this." Jeff ordered, guiding Coulson toward the bar counter. Coulson sat dutifully, accepting the bottle after Jeff opened it and handed it over.

Jeff picked up the bottle resting next to the oven, facing Coulson again to tap it against his before both of them took a drink.

Daisy slipped one of the pies into the oven before Coulson could get a good look at what was on it.

"Surprise," she teased, setting the timer before pulling another beer out of the fridge for herself. She casually flicked the cap toward Jeff, who managed to swat it away before making an indignant face at her.

Coulson smiled as he watched their antics.

They were the best.

* * *

 


End file.
